PLUS NAMED BEST SCIENCE WEB SITE
AT THE 5th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS

Plus Honoured With International Online Community's Top Accolade

At the Webby Awards - the Oscars for the internet - held last week, Plus
magazine was officially named as the best science site on the web. The
award, the leading international honour for web sites, was presented at a
star-studded event at San Francisco's War Memorial Opera House by the
International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a diverse, 350-person
organization whose membership includes musician Beck, Susan Sarandon,
David Bowie, Francis Ford Coppola, and Julia Child.

Adhering to the Webby Awards' famous five-words-or-fewer speech limit, Dr
Robert Hunt, the Editor of Plus, said "Maths is elegant; interesting;
useful."

"This year's nominees and winners prove that the Web is alive and as
dynamic as ever," said Tiffany Shlain, the founder and director of The
Webby Awards. "We're incredibly proud to shine a spotlight on these
stellar sites."

Thousands of Web aficionados tuned in to watch the Webby action live on
ABCNews.com's webcast of the event, which included a red carpet pre-show
hosted by veteran US newscaster Sam Donaldson.  After the awards ceremony,
which was hosted by actor Alan Cumming, guests and winners rubbed elbows
at the post-ceremony bash.

Dr Robert Hunt, Deputy Director of the Isaac Newton Institute at the
University of Cambridge, England, and Editor of Plus magazine, the online
maths magazine which won the award for best science website, was in San
Francisco to accept the trophy in person. Fellow winners included

BBC World Service ("Radio" category)
Nationalgeographic.com ("Education")
Yahoo! Finance ("Finance")
Microsoft Windows Update ("Technical Achievement")
Expedia.com ("Travel")
PBS Online ("TV")
Google ("Best Practices")
Inside ("News", beating BBC News Online and CNN.com)
Vint Cerf (the father of the internet, who won the award for "Lifetime
  Achievement")

Following the ceremony, Dr Hunt said, "This is a wonderful achievement in
the face of such outstanding competition. I'm delighted!" Professor John
Barrow, Director of the Millennium Mathematics Project of which Plus is a
member, added: "We are all excited by this prestigious award. We're
especially pleased to have won this award as Plus was one of only three
UK-based nominees out of 150. Winning the Webby is a great achievement for
a serious mathematics education site, which provides an entertaining, free
mathematics internet magazine accessible to all."

ABOUT PLUS

Plus was launched in 1997 and was then called PASS Maths (Public Awareness
and Schools Support for Maths) - a project of the Interactive Courseware
Research and Development Group, based jointly at the Universities of
Cambridge and Keele. In 2000 it was renamed Plus, to avoid confusion with
websites aimed at those studing for examinations.

Plus is now part of the Millennium Mathematics Project (MMP), a national
initiative based in Cambridge but working across the UK and
internationally. The MMP aims to help people of all ages and abilities
share in the excitement of mathematics and understand the enormous range
and importance of its applications to science and commerce. It aims to
change people's attitudes to maths, to act as a national focus for
renewing and improving appreciation of the dynamic importance of maths and
its applications, and to demonstrate the vital contribution of maths to
shaping the everyday world.

Plus is an entirely free, non-commercial online magazine for teenagers and
the general public. It publishes articles explaining the diverse and
fascinating applications of mathematics to real-world problems in commerce
and industry, plus games, puzzles, stories about recent scientific
developments in which maths has played an important part, and interviews
with people working in a wide range of fields, from high finance to
computer game design, who use mathematics in their careers.  Recent issues
have featured articles on topics as diverse as the mathematics of mazes,
and of magic; how to model the spread of diseases;  how game theory is
used in politics; the mathematics of bar codes; limericks; the appearance
of fractals in Jackson Pollock's paintings; and whether the Universe has
any edges. Plus also features articles about the history of mathematics
and science, a lucky dip of mathematical curiosities, book reviews and
links to other mathematics websites and resources.

Besides Plus, the Millennium Mathematics Project includes a number of
other programmes, including NRICH (also web based, at
http://nrich.maths.org/), a free online maths club publishing every month
puzzles, games and mathematical learning resources for children aged 5 -
18, and MOTIVATE, a video-conferencing scheme (chosen for funding by NESTA
as one of its pioneer projects) which brings schoolchildren from
disadvantaged areas into direct contact with world-class research
mathematical scientists to enhance the teaching of mathematics in schools,
raise educational aspirations and broaden the horizons of expectation for
gifted pupils.

       About The Webby Awards

       The Webby Awards is the leading international honour for Web sites
       and individual achievement in technology and creativity. The
       critically acclaimed theatre production attended by 3000 people,
       includes films, animations, installation art and performances. The
       International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences selects the
       nominees, winners, and presents the awards event. Sponsors and
       Partners for The Fifth Annual Webby Awards include Intel, Adobe,
       IDG, Metropolis Editorial, The Creative Group, Commission
       Junction, EarthLink, WorldCom, ABCNews.com, Getty Images,
       Metropolis Editorial, Diesel Design, Rare Medium, Entertainment
       Weekly, Variety, Access Magazine, Wired, and Artbyte. Balloting
       is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers. For more information visit
       http://www.webbyawards.com.

       About the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences

       The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences is
       dedicated to the creative, technical, and professional progress of
       the Internet and evolving forms of interactive media. The
       Academy's goal is to assemble a brilliant panel of leading new
       media experts, visionaries, journalists, and luminaries to propel the
       Internet and Interactive Technology into the future. The Academy
       is an intellectually diverse organization that includes over 350
       members such as film director Francis Ford Coppola, musician
       Bjork, Chairman of Miramax Talk Media Tina Brown, cyberguru
       Esther Dyson, creator of "The Simpsons" Matt Groening, Public
       Radio International Personality Ira Glass, and Oracle Chairman
       Larry Ellison. Members also include writers and editors from
       publications such as The New York Times, New Scientist, CNET,
       Wired, Forbes, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times,
       Vibe, and WallPaper, and scientists from a wide variety of
       institutions such as Berkeley, Stanford, MIT and Xerox.
       For more information, visit http://www.iadas.net.